Starfield developer Bethesda is responding to negative feedback from players on Steam by asking them to accept the game’s “weirdness” and explaining that it is meant to make players feel small. Despite initially attracting a large player base and positive reviews, Starfield has received negative feedback over time, resulting in a mixed review score on the Steam store.
Many of the negative reviewers have spent significant time playing the game, indicating that their criticisms are genuine. One player, who logged 20 hours, described Starfield as “boring, empty, and soulless,” expressing disappointment with the lack of populated areas and lifeless characters.
In response to these criticisms, a Bethesda representative defended the game’s design choices. They explained that some planets are intentionally empty to evoke a sense of exploration and smallness. The developer also addressed issues with non-playable characters (NPCs), acknowledging that NPCs are not fully scripted and may behave strangely at times due to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in their creation.
Another player who spent 29 hours playing the game encountered unresponsive NPCs, repetitive missions, and lengthy loading screens during space exploration. In response, Bethesda encouraged the player to focus on the expansive gameplay and suggested trying different activities instead of solely pursuing the main mission.
One player with over 256 hours in Starfield described the game as “a mile wide and an inch deep,” indicating a lack of depth and engagement. Bethesda’s response to this reviewer was similar to others: they suggested creating different characters to add variety to the experience.
The Steam reviews suggest that simply playing more Starfield may not alleviate boredom for players. It is possible that, like many single-player games, there is a limit to how many hours one can invest before seeking new experiences.
Decrypt reached out to Bethesda for comment on the user review responses but did not receive an immediate response.
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